Amazon wins green praise for brown mailers

If you're an Amazon customer like me you may have noticed more of your orders arriving in paper envelopes rather than in the online retailer's iconic white plastic mailers.
     
The change reflects a bigger shift by the company, an Amazon executive told me recently, after environmentalists noticed a decline in its use of plastic mailing material. 
     
You can read more about the topic in my column this week, below. I'm also including stories about bigtime corporate interventions by U.S. President Donald Trump and slow progress for sustainable aviation fuel.

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Environmentalists cheered when Amazon's recent sustainability report showed a 16% decline in the company's shipments with single-use plastic, to 74,137 metric tons last year. That's significant, especially as many companies adjust to new priorities from Trump.
     
But activists also were puzzled. Amazon has resisted shareholder resolutions asking for reports on the topic, so why would it bring down the metric so much?
    
Pat Lindner, Amazon's VP of mechatronics - yes it's a real word - and sustainable packaging, says the main answer is simple: customers find paper easier to recycle.
    
"That's what's been driving use of plastics to use of paper-based packaging, because while plastic can be technically recycled, it's often an inconvenience" requiring a trip to a drop-off facility, Lindner told me in a recent interview.

You can read more in my latest column by clicking the button below

Mailers I got from Amazon in plastic (left) and paper (right) flavors

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